User Reviews

Meek middle-aged toy factory worker Harry Stadling (superbly played with heartbreaking pathos and conviction by Brandon Maggart) has a decidedly unhealthy fixation on Santa Claus: He lives in a home adorned with a motley array of St. Nick-themed items, tries to get his indifferent coworkers to take pride in the toys that they manufacture, and even spies on the neighborhood kids with binoculars and keeps tabs on their behavior in a series of ledgers. However, one fateful Christmas Eve Harry has a severe mental meltdown and goes dangerously off the deep end with his Santa obsession.

Those expecting a typical and conventional slice'n'dice body count opus will be seriously disappointed; instead writer/director Lewis Jackson offers something much better and more ambitious: A quirky, vivid, and often darkly humorous psychological character study of a deeply tragic and troubled soul who elicits from the viewer a complex blend of fear and pity. Best of all, Jackson not only grounds the premise in a thoroughly believable workaday blue collar reality, but also provides a handy helping of spot-on stinging social commentary on the crass commercialization of the yuletide season. Moreover, this film delivers a wonderful wealth of inspired oddball moments: A raucous Christmas office party that degenerates into a drunken fracas, Harry marking a bratty kid's house with muddy hand prints, Harry happily dancing at another Christmas party (Harry's speech to a bunch of little children at this particular party is an absolute loopy hoot!), Harry getting stuck in a chimney, Harry being chased by an angry torch-wielding mob, a police station line-up of sidewalk Santas, and a truly bonkers magical ending that's probably all in Harry's unbalanced head.

While Maggart clearly dominates the movie with his top-notch portrayal of a fascinatingly sincere and well-meaning, yet still lethal and unhinged individual, he nonetheless receives sturdy support from Jeffrey DeMunn as Harry's fed-up long-suffering younger brother Philip, Dianne Hall as Philip's more sweet and tolerant wife Jackie, Joe Jamrog as lazy and irresponsible coworker Frank, and Peter Friedman as callous executive Mr. Grosch. Philip Cosnoff does a wickedly dead-on caricature of Geraldo Rivera as preening television reporter Ricardo Bauma. Popping up in small parts are such familiar faces as Mark Margolis, Patricia Richardson, Rutanya Alda, and Raymond J. Barry. Kudos are also in order for Ricardo Aronovich's lustrous cinematography and the wonky electronic score by Joel Harris, Julia Heyward, and Don Christensen. A marvelously singular treat.

It's less trashy than Silent Night Deadly Night, less influential than Black Christmas, and less sleazy than Don't Open 'Til Christmas, but You Better Watch Out (AKA Christmas Evil) is certainly no less worthy of your time if you dig seasonal horrors.

In fact, it fully deserves to have something of a cult following thanks to its quirky sense of humour, and a wonderful turn by Brandon Maggart as crazy Harry Stadling, who as a child, spotted his mommy doing more than just kissing Santa Clause, and who now takes Christmas a little too seriously, deciding for himself who has been naughty and nice, and dealing with them accordingly.

With such fun scenes as Harry (in full Father Christmas costume) dancing his heart out at a Christmas party, getting stuck in a chimney, and imagining his van is being pulled by reindeer, plus a police identity line-up consisting of a motley looking collection of Santas, You Better Watch Out might be more amusing than horrific, but it is still very twisted at times; certainly what little graphic violence is shown is surprisingly nasty, such as when Harry attacks a group of church-goers, poking an eye out with a toy soldier and then axing a couple of guys in the head.

As Harry's murderous rampage continues, and local people begin to eye anyone in a Santa costume with suspicion, it's not long before our jolly psycho is confronted by an angry mob, who chase him down the streets with flaming torches (in an homage to Universal's Frankenstein, perhaps). Finally, Harry winds up driving his van (which is painted to look like a sled) off a bridge; however, rather than plummeting to his doom, his vehicle flies off into the night sky (presumably showing us what is going through Harry's mind in his final moments).

It's a suitably surreal ending to an enjoyably off-the-wall entry in the Christmas horror sub-genre.

6.5 out of 10, rounded up to 7 for IMDb.

The similarities between this 1980 film and the 2019 "Joker" are striking. Both deal with a mentally disturbed man in a serious and thoughtful manner. Both men come to be identified with fictitious characters; in this film, it is Santa Claus. In both films, the main character kills three people to begin his mayhem. In both films, there are extended narrow escape scenes. In both films, a man is killed with a sharp object embedded in his face, with blood gushing out. In both films, not all of the killings are justified. In both films, one of the victims is a co-worker of the killer who has been very nasty to him in different ways. Finally, in both films, the killer eludes justice and merges with his adopted identity at the end in spectacular fashion. "Joker" is the better film, but "You Better Watch Out" is worth watching. It is not your ordinary horror film.

Christmas Evil is no feat of film making. You'd be hard pressed to find anyone convince me of that. That being said there are some things about this film that make it stand out from other slashers that came after or even before it. It has a distinctive Psycho vibe to it and it is clear that the director actually cared about this film and was trying to make a good solid horror flick. I didn't find it nearly as campy as other B-horror 80's flicks I have seen and the performance by our lead actor is downright disturbing. Certainly it borders on being comedic in some sort of twisted way but so much of the style, scenes, sound effects and acting is just too weird and creepy to be funny. I absolutely understand why this has become a cult classic in certain circles because as far as I know and can tell this was really the first movie to turn everything sacred about Christmas into a terrifying idea. Yes, Black Christmas was set at Christmas time but our killer is literally obsessed with Christmas, children, Santa and having his dreams shattered as a child. I'm not a film expert and I rarely notice things like camera angles or specifics in cinematography and yet I couldn't help but notice some of the smart and equally creepy shots in this movie.

Perhaps in the most disturbing concept Sesame Street 70's alumni Brandon Maggart who has also had a lucrative Television career is fascinating in this movie as the completely deranged killer. I know many of you that hate B-movies will scoff and wonder if I'm crazy but Maggart is excellent in this. He displays his very best Norman Bates given the very shallow character development he gets. His mental breakdown and obsessions drives this movie and honestly his performance is far better than a movie like this deserves. I anxiously awaited his snap when he would finally lose it and he is actually a very good actor who makes such a ridiculous film concept seem viable. Its almost a one man show for him because every other person in the movie are small supporting roles so the main focus is squarely on him and it actually probably makes the film that much better. How incredible he is from the time he puts on the suit for the first time through delivering the gifts to the hospital (just a jaw droppingly disturbing scene) to his murderous spree. Not the kills are where the film really starts to get campy because they are ridiculous and poorly shot with dollar store special effects. But thanks to (once again) the music and the camera angles...it is just disturbing. Jeffrey DeMunn (a recognizable character actor) plays Harry's brother and does a solid job. Same with Dianne Hull as his sister in law. They don't get a ton of screen time and they are there strictly to show how far Harry falls from humanity.

I have honestly never seen a horror film like this. I mean, it didn't just freak me out but it legitimately got under my skin. It just felt wrong...the killer is completely sadistic and his descent is terrifying to watch. As a horror fan I would never add this to my collection because I simply don't think I could watch it a second time and yet I have to give it kudos for style and just the sick dark nature of it. Writer and director Lewis Jackson has virtually no other credits to his name and I'm actually surprised because I keep emphasizing there is some talent here. The problem with the movie is the story is incredibly weak. I mean, it would have made a great difference to have something other than Harry spotting his Dad dressed as Santa and fooling around with his mother to leave a disturbing impression on him. If some aspects of another B-Horror Christmas classic Silent Night, Deadly Night mixed with this they would have had a real terrifying movie on their hands. I have to call it like I see it and this is brilliantly crafted in so many ways. It drags and dawdles a lot but its like a horrifying car wreck that you can't look away from. His Santa suit is so well done and every time you see a child on the screen you feel sick to your stomach because this guy is truly so messed up. Watch this but with caution because it is something really sick. Only horror fans looking for something outside of the box should watch this one. The last half hour of the film turns into a bizarre homage to Frankenstein and just about nearly de-vilifies our killer and makes him an anti-hero. But I would argue with anyone who says this belongs in a "campy horror" film section. It is a bizarre and twisted film that needs to be seen to be believed. 7/10

I learned about this movie from John Waters and if there's one thing I know, it's that John Waters has never let me down. He said of the film, "I wish I had kids. I'd make them watch it every year and if they didn't like it, they'd be punished."

Christmas Eve 1947: Harry Stadling (played later in the film Brandon Maggart, who is the father of Fiona Apple) watches his father - dressed as Santa - get sexy with his mother. He gets so upset that he smashes a snowglobe and uses it to slice up his hand.

Fast forward to 1980: Harry wants to be Santa. He sleeps in costume, his home is constant decorated for the holidays, he works in the Jolly Dreams toy factory and keeps a book of who is naughty and who is nice. Of note, the toy factory was owned by the family of producer Edward R. Pressman and were known for making the board games Triominoes and Mastermind.

Harry notices an employee that called in sick is at the bar, even after he had to fill in for the man on the assembly line. He gets so mad that he smashes one of his dollhouse figures and cancels Thanksgiving. There's a bright spot, though, as his boss announces that if they increase production, they can give toys to the kids at a hospital.

Harry realizes that everyone sees him as a loser, so he has a nervous breakdown and becomes Santa. He starts making toys in his basement and steals toys from the factory to give to the hospital. But he also does some insane things - like leave dirt on a bad kid's door. And oh yeah - he murders a bunch of young adults who make fun of his costume, an act which his co-workers witness.



Harry goes full nutzoid, destroying his nephews gifts and replacing them with toys he's made and killing a co-worker and leaving more toys behind.He attends the company Christmas party and dances to an increasingly faster an more frenetic version of "Here Comes Santa Claus" before threatening to put people in his bad book.

Then, Harry activates the assembly line and makes more toys before getting his van stuck in the mud. He escapes a mob who recognizes him as a killer before making it to his brother's house. A battle ensues between the two, but Harry escapes and he's forced to drive his van off the bridge by the mob. But in his mind, the van flies off like Santa' sled to the words of "The Night Before Christmas."

Obviously, this is not the movie to share with the kids. But if you're an adult who has had it up to here with the holidays, by all means, this is the tonic you're seeking.

Flat-out bizarre flick plays more as a parody on Santa Claus than a legitimate slasher. Harry(Brandon Maggart)is quite a disturbed man who fancies himself a modern day Santa Claus. A recurring memory of his mother having a sexual liaison with Santa(his father in Kris Krengal dress)haunts him and seems to be the chief motivator in his madness. He's so engulfed in the spirit of the yuletide season he sleeps in his Santa garb, creates his own toy soldiers, spies on neighborhood kids to see if they are naughty or nice(he has two separate books where he catalogues the good and bad children by how they behave on a day to day basis), and paints the side of his van with an image of a sleigh. He will go out on Christmas Eve as Santa delivering stolen toys from his employ to a retarded home for children. But, there's also a rage that bears itself violently to those who mock and criticize his well-meaning example of St Nick. Three adults at the steps of a church poke fun to the point where Harry attacks them with an ax while also gouging one man's eye out with the sword of a toy soldier. He is greeted by a bar full of people who wish him to entertain their children and Harry pays a visit to a co-worker who tricked him into working his spot on the late-shift while he was out drinking with buddies(the star of David on top of the Christmas tree will be his reward..across his throat!). There's even a homage to FRANKENSTEIN where a group, who know he killed those adults on the church steps, chases after him wanting revenge on this killer Santa. But, through all the silliness on display, there's a sad undercurrent of loss between Harry and his brother Philip(Jeffrey DeMun)who thinks his older brother is a pathetic excuse of a man who needs serious help. The ending is completely ridiculous with Harry's van flying away into the night as if it were a reindeer-led sleigh-ride.

I think the film benefits from Maggart's amazing portrayal of the troubled Harry who is never in full control that it's so obvious he's needed help for some time. The signs are there yet most just looked down on him instead of trying to understand him. Despite five deaths, the film really isn't much of a slasher film, no matter how it appears marketed to be just that.